Découverte d'une forme ancestrale du Petit Panda dans le Miocène moyen de Madrid (Espagne)

Ginsburg, L.; Morales, Jorge; Soria, Dolores; Herráez, Esther Rubio

doi:10.1016/s1251-8050(97)81163-9

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The absence in Simocyon of the masticatory specializations of Ailurus for herbivory clearly indicates that their common ancestor, which first evolved the false thumb, would have been a generalized carnivore, not a bamboo feeder. The dentition of Amphictis, a possible basal ailurid from the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene of Eurasia (25), is very similar to that of Simocyon, supporting the notion that the modified dentition of Ailurus is a secondary specialization already present in the fossil ailurine Magerictis imperialensis from the Middle Miocene of Spain (17 million years ago) (26), in other more recent forms from France Ϸ12 million years ago (27), and in the more advanced Pristinailurus bristoli from the Late Miocene of North America (28). Thus, the separation between Simocyon and the Ailurus lineage would have occurred very early in the evolution of the family Ailuridae but later than the appearance of the false thumb.…”

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confidence: 67%

Evidence of a false thumb in a fossil carnivore clarifies the evolution of pandas

Salesa

Antón

Peigné

et al. 2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The ''false thumb'' of pandas is a carpal bone, the radial sesamoid, which has been enlarged and functions as an opposable thumb. If the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) are not closely related, their sharing of this adaptation implies a remarkable convergence. The discovery of previously unknown postcranial remains of a Miocene red panda relative, Simocyon batalleri, from the Spanish site of Batallones-1 (Madrid), now shows that this animal had a false thumb. The radial sesamoid of S. batalleri shows similarities with that of the red panda, which supports a sister-group relationship and indicates independent evolution in both pandas. The fossils from Batallones-1 reveal S. batalleri as a puma-sized, semiarboreal carnivore with a moderately hypercarnivore diet. These data suggest that the false thumbs of S. batalleri and Ailurus fulgens were probably inherited from a primitive member of the red panda family (Ailuridae), which lacked the red panda's specializations for herbivory but shared its arboreal adaptations. Thus, it seems that, whereas the false thumb of the giant panda probably evolved for manipulating bamboo, the false thumbs of the red panda and of S. batalleri more likely evolved as an aid for arboreal locomotion, with the red panda secondarily developing its ability for item manipulation and thus producing one of the most dramatic cases of convergence among vertebrates.convergence ͉ Simocyon ͉ Miocene ͉ Batallones-1 ͉ Ailuridae T he fossil site of Batallones-1 (Madrid) is a Miocene carnivore trap, which is greatly improving our knowledge about the Late Miocene European carnivores (1, 2). With 98% of the remains corresponding to members of Carnivora and an unbiased representation of skeletal parts, the site is yielding unprecedented information about the anatomy of species that previously were poorly known. One example is Simocyon batalleri, traditionally known from cranial fragments and dentition, which is now the best-represented member of the genus, thanks to the Batallones-1 material. A study of the cranial fossils from Batallones-1 has provided further evidence of the systematic position of Simocyon as a member of the Ailuridae, has shown a trend in the evolution of this genus toward increased hypercarnivory and bone crushing, and has typified S. batalleri as a hunter of small prey and occasional scavenger (3). Now, the discovery that this animal had a ''false thumb'' throws new light on the evolution of this feature in both the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) lineages.S. batalleri is the least abundant carnivore in the Batallones-1 association, and the fossils recovered correspond to two individuals. The fossils include crania and mandibles, cervical, thoracic, and lumbar vertebrae, nearly complete forelimbs, and partial hindlimbs (Fig. 1). The cervical vertebrae are unspecialized and similar to those of Ailurus fulgens, but the lumbar vertebrae are elongated, with pointed neural processes and elongated transverse p...

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confidence: 67%

Evidence of a false thumb in a fossil carnivore clarifies the evolution of pandas

Salesa

Antón

Peigné

et al. 2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Such perceptions have led to proposed classifications of the red panda as a member of the ursidae, reflected in standard reference books (Wozencraft, 1989a,b, 1993). Both extant species have Asiatic distributions, but whereas the fossil record of the giant panda group is restricted to Eurasia, with early members of the extant genus Ailuropoda (Pei, 1974) as well as the Late Miocene genera Ailurarctos and Agriarctos (Qiu & Qi, 1989), fossils of red panda relatives are known from sites both in Eurasia, including the genera Simocyon , Magerictis and Parailurus (Ginsburg et al. 1997, 2001; Wang, 1997; Sasagawa et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of the functional anatomy of the hand and forearm of Ailurus fulgens (Carnivora, Ailuridae) for the evolution of the ‘false‐thumb’ in pandas

et al. 2006

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Both the giant panda ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca ) and the red panda ( Ailurus fulgens ) possess a 'false-thumb', actually an enlarged radial sesamoid bone, which contributes to the gripping action of the hand. These species are not closely related, however, as one is an ursid and the other an ailurid, so the fact that they share this adaptation implies a remarkable convergence. We studied the functional anatomy of this structure in the red panda, comparing it with existing descriptions of the grasping mechanism in both pandas. Previous interpretations of the radial sesamoid in Ailurus as a rod-like structure without direct articulation to the wrist bones are inaccurate. There are various important differences between the red panda and the giant panda. In the former, the lesser development of the radial sesamoid, its connection with the flexor retinaculum, the presence of an insertion of the muscle abductor pollicis longus in the first metacarpal, which enhances its supinatory action, and the presence of a muscle flexor brevis digitorum manus point to thin-branch climbing features serving as an exaptation to the more recent role of the red panda hand in the manipulation of bamboo.

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“…The lower second molar of Magerictis is slightly larger than the herein presented respective tooth and has a lower m2W/m2L ratio ( Table 17 ; Fig 22 ). Additionally, this tooth differs significantly from SNSB-BSPG-2020 XCIV-5705 in several morphological traits: the outline of the tooth is not oblique, there are no connecting cristae between the metaconid and the protoconid, the metaconid is more mesially positioned, the hypoconid is larger, the paraconid is considerably developed and several additional cuspulids can be seen in the distal part of the talonid [ 167 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The exceptionally high diversity of small carnivorans from the Late Miocene hominid locality of Hammerschmiede (Bavaria, Germany)

et al. 2022

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The present study deals with new material of carnivorans (Mustelidae, Mephitidae, Ailuridae, Potamotheriinae and Viverridae) from the basal Tortonian (Late Miocene, late Astaracian) hominid-bearing locality of Hammerschmiede (Bavaria, Germany). The small carnivoran fauna includes 20 species belonging to nine different subfamilies (Guloninae, Lutrinae, Mellivorinae, Potamotheriinae, Leptarctinae, Mephitinae, Simocyoninae, Genettinae and Viverrinae). The identified forms include: “Martes” sansaniensis, “Martes” cf. munki, “Martes” sp., Circamustela hartmanni n. sp., Laphyctis mustelinus, Guloninae indet., Eomellivora moralesi, Vishnuonyx neptuni, Paralutra jaegeri, Lartetictis cf. dubia, Trocharion albanense, Palaeomeles pachecoi, Proputorius sansaniensis, Proputorius pusillus, Alopecocyon goeriachensis, Simocyoninae indet., Potamotherium sp., Semigenetta sansaniensis, Semigenetta grandis and Viverrictis modica. The new species Circamustela hartmanni n. sp. is differentiated from the other members of the genus by its small size and the morphology of its dental cusps in the upper and lower carnassials. This is one of the highest reported taxonomic diversities for fossil small carnivorans in the Miocene of Europe, including also first and last occurrences for several genera and species. Additionally, the assemblage comprises some rare taxa such as Palaeomeles pachecoi and Eomellivora moralesi. An ecomorphological comparison of the discovered taxa reveals possible cases of competition and niche partitioning.

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Découverte d'une forme ancestrale du Petit Panda dans le Miocène moyen de Madrid (Espagne)

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

Evidence of a false thumb in a fossil carnivore clarifies the evolution of pandas

Evidence of a false thumb in a fossil carnivore clarifies the evolution of pandas

Implications of the functional anatomy of the hand and forearm of Ailurus fulgens (Carnivora, Ailuridae) for the evolution of the ‘false‐thumb’ in pandas

The exceptionally high diversity of small carnivorans from the Late Miocene hominid locality of Hammerschmiede (Bavaria, Germany)

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